Kristy LaFollette

🚨The live recording of 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘍𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 from California Donor Table's 20th Anniversary Convening is now available!🚨 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘍𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴, a podcast hosted by Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich, questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change. Take a look at the sneak peak of "Episode 10 — Fund Like You Want to Win with Ludovic Blain”. In this episode, Ludovic dives into: 💪The power of funding bold, long-term investments to counter the well-coordinated efforts of conservative groups and donors that harm our communities. ⚖️How donors can fund initiatives that not only defend democracy but also create a better government for all. ✍Lessons can we take from local-level wins to build progressive power at the national level. ▶️Watch the more of the episode here: https://lnkd.in/g6kNf66r

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#MobilizeWithUs | In our commitment to advancing #racial, #social, and #economic justice, it is essential that we closely examine patterns present in philanthropy. Northern California Grantmakers has partnered with Candid in 2025 to more closely examine grantmaking practices, demographic data, and the impact of philanthropy in the region. 📊 By diligently gathering and analyzing demographic data about the organizations being funded, philanthropy can gain valuable insights and make meaningful strides toward achieving #RacialEquity. 📊 #Data is critical to sharing the impact of philanthropy, especially in a time when we see foundations and nonprofits coming under increasing scrutiny. With this clear framework in place, we can hold the sector #accountable for our funding decisions and #transparently assess our progress year after year, ensuring that our efforts contribute to real and lasting change. 📁 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gij2t9PP

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How do you make strategic decisions for your nonprofit in a rapidly changing landscape? At the Nonprofit Association of Oregon's (NAO) webinar "Strategic Decision Time: Sunset or Sustainability," Anna Young and Myriam Khoury tackled the strategic questions facing organizations amid significant funding cuts and other volatility in the sector, and provided practical tools and templates for deliberate decision-making. Some key insights and tools from this session: ✏️ Use Assumption Mapping to focus your energy. It can feel like everything is unknown some days, but clarifying what's certain helps you stop spinning. NAO's downloadable Assumption Mapping chart lets you plot what's Known vs. Unknown and High Importance vs. Low Importance so you can focus your time where it matters. 📈 Try scenario planning for your biggest risks. Use tools like Bridgespan's Risk Analysis framework (designed specifically for nonprofits navigating disruption) to map out best case, moderate case, and worst case scenarios. You may not have perfect predictions, but you will have something to fall back on. ⏸️ Pause before deciding. Quick decisions feel productive during disruption, but pausing to be strategic pays off. Take time to decide who makes which decisions and communicate the "why" behind every choice. ❓ Build adjustments into your culture. Create daily, weekly, or monthly "pause" moments to ask: What's changing? What new information do we have? What needs to shift? Then use NAO's Pivoting Strategy Worksheet to map your top priorities, identify risks, clarify non-negotiables, and assign next steps. 🧠 Know your brain and have compassion for yourself. Our brains can be our worst enemies in crisis mode, but knowing what’s happening when your brain navigates uncertainty can help you handle it. When fight-or-flight kicks in: slow down, engage others who have your back, and delegate deliberately. Thank you, Anna and Myriam, for equipping nonprofit leaders with practical resources to navigate disruption with courage and care. Access the webinar recording and downloadable tools, as well as the rest of NAO’s five-part series: https://bit.ly/45FK11H #nonprofitresources #nonprofitleadership

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Nonprofits in Crisis: Funding Forward Sparks Bold Conversations! TVNPA’s recent “Funding Forward: A Dialogue for Change” forum brought together Bay Area philanthropic leaders for a critical conversation about the future of nonprofit funding — and the need for urgent, transformative change. In back-to-back articles, The Independent explores: 📰 "Philanthropists Discuss Solutions to Funding Challenges" – Highlights panelist insights on collaborative strategies, increasing foundation payouts, and why 5% must become the floor, not the ceiling. 📰 "Nonprofits Face an Emergency, and Foundations Should Step Up" – A powerful call to action for the philanthropic sector to meet this historic moment with bold giving and solidarity. Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations — the backbone of our communities — need sustained, multi-year funding, strategic partnerships, and advocacy from donors large and small. Let’s turn this moment of crisis into a movement of hope and action. 🔗 Read both articles and join the conversation: https://lnkd.in/g7ttwejs https://lnkd.in/gKseht8k #FundingForward #TVNPA #Philanthropy #NonprofitsMatter #FundTheFuture #TriValley #SocialImpact #CommunityFirst

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What stands out to me most in this report is how more nonprofits signal they are cutting programs than are cutting payroll. How? Perhaps the answer lies in the high percentage of nonprofits using their reserves to make up for funding cuts. This isn’t sustainable. At the same time, it has to be because the needs nonprofits serve, throughout Oregon, will only grow in 2026 and 2027. This is true for social services, family services, education, health care, etc. etc. The NAO report lists solutions. There isn’t a lot of time for triage. Cash flow is cash flow. Let’s work together to innovate and create new enterprises for the future so that our missions continue to flourish for the benefit of communities that rely on us.

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No single organization can bridge the digital divide alone. That’s why I’m excited to join the Arizona Digital Inclusion Network (ADIN) as a speaker for an upcoming Arizona Library Association Professional Development Monthly Webinar Series focused on how partnerships amplify impact. Through FLORECER’s work, we’ve seen firsthand how collaborations with libraries, school districts, the Juvenile Justice Center, and national, corporate, and community partners create pathways for digital literacy, college access, and opportunity that wouldn’t be possible in isolation. FLORECER Yuma, AZ is grateful to be part of a network that believes in working together to move our communities forward.

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The Oregon Nonprofit Reality Check Oregon’s nonprofit sector is carrying more than programs, it is carrying people. Yet teams are stretched by housing and childcare costs, talent churn, and donor cycles that have not kept pace with need. It is time to retire "do more with less" and lean into "do differently": right-size roles, modernize HR, pilot ethical AI, and deepen cross-sector partnerships. We need to look at viability from the front lines, what is working, what is not, and what we can change now. #OregonNonprofits #Portland #PNW #SocialImpact #Leadership #NonprofitOps

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New federal policies and the unsettled economy have prompted Archstone Foundation to do some urgent, fresh thinking about how we can best support older adults in California and the organizations that exist to support them. In this post, President and CEO Rigo Saborio shares the Foundation's approach to making social change for good through community-led action. https://lnkd.in/e95ZxjrS

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🎙️ In conversation with community leaders shaping impact in San Diego Our VP of Community, Stephen Minix, recently joined Drew Schlosberg, co-host Kristen Fogle (Executive Director, San Diego Writers, Ink), and Neville Billimoria (SVP of Membership & Community Relations at Mission Fed Credit Union) on the Spotlight on the Community podcast from Cloudcast Media. The discussion explored how data storytelling, trust-based philanthropy, and strong relationships can help nonprofits and funders strengthen collaboration and accelerate impact. At UpMetrics, we’re proud to support organizations across the impact ecosystem by helping turn data into insight, insight into story, and story into action. 🎧 Listen to the conversation: https://lnkd.in/gtuDK-CK #UpMetrics #SocialImpact #Philanthropy #Community #DataStorytelling

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The future of philanthropy is structured, transparent, and mission-aligned. The Leadon Family Foundation is developing as a legally organized California Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation dedicated to: • Strategic charitable deployment • Measured community outcomes • Responsible governance • Long-term capital stewardship We invite mission-aligned supporters, advisors, and philanthropic partners to participate. Learn more & contribute: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gSpFDqnt #NonprofitStrategy #CharitableFoundation #BoardGovernance #ImpactLeadership

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In this latest installment in our CEO:CEO series, PEAK Grantmaking’s Satonya Fair, JD and Northern California Grantmakers’ Dwayne Marsh reflect on how to build personal and professional communities in order to move the sector forward, what it means to be a leader in times of extreme uncertainty, and the need to create space for the next wave of sector leaders to innovate and reimagine philanthropy. Read here: https://lnkd.in/geiyJ623

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Native voices are vital to our society and democratic processes. The report, "We The Resilient," published by the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health (CCUIH), California Native Vote Project, and Catalyst California (formerly Advancement Project California), sheds light on various Native issues in California. It delves into the health and wellbeing of Native communities in the state and seeks to address the historical and contemporary structural barriers that result in the disparities Native communities experience today. It also highlights the crucial role of philanthropy, nonprofits, and allies in addressing these issues. Learn about stories of resilience and effective power-building, community organizing, and policy advocacy led by Native communities across the state. Read more: https://buff.ly/tE3JS9L

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Nonprofits are the invisible backbone of our communities — and right now, 17 Portland nonprofits are facing the loss of their tax-exempt status. Our Director of Advocacy, Mary Alice Scott, noted that Portland appears to be interpreting state law more strictly than other municipalities, creating confusion and real financial consequences for organizations serving our communities. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eRHi5Zvi

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The California State Treasurer's Office along with Treasurer Fiona Ma and her team recently helped with the launch of the California Creative Finance Network in partnership with CreativeStartups in Sacramento recently! The event brought together over 60 participants to explore new strategies for supporting emerging creative entrepreneurs across the state. The goal: to strengthen California’s creative economy for the benefit of all Californians. https://lnkd.in/gaJPNYgQ

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❣️ New on the blog! Kristen Caloca, founder of KMC Social Impact Strategies, shares insights on how funders are helping Inland Empire nonprofits navigate an increasingly volatile landscape. Her post highlights key takeaways from yesterday’s AFP Inland Empire State of Philanthropy Town Hall. 📖 Read more about the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping our region’s philanthropic future: https://lnkd.in/gDCg75vh

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California Arts Council, in collaboration with the Creative Economy Workgroup and the Institute for the Future, has released CA’s first sector-specific report, California’s Future Is Creative: Strategies for Cultural Resilience, Economic Growth, and Global Leadership, to guide strategic action in strengthening the state's creative industries and workforce. The report aims to build a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient creative economy by investing in artists and cultural workers, expanding creative infrastructure, and integrating the arts into key sectors to drive culture, creativity, and innovation. "Creative industries and workers will play an important role in addressing and mitigating the effects of climate change in California." https://lnkd.in/gHRaxTQM

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Power building is about uplifting voices, instilling agency and growing influence in ways that are led by and for the most impacted communities, including entrepreneurs and small business owners. Our partners at California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO) advocate for public policies that support underserved communities. As CAMEO’s Senior Program Manager Antonio Aguilar states, by organizing and amplifying these voices and stories, we’re building power together to shape policies that reflect the needs of the people. Through The Center’s Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI), we help leaders like Antonio create lasting impact by connecting communities to resources and building collective strength. CEMI’s commitment to technical assistance, capacity building and grassroots power-building are key to a movement that ensures our collective dreams become California’s reality. Every community deserves the tools and platform to shape our economic future.

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